Review by Booklist Review
Regina Petit knew she was Indian because she had a tribal roll number 3669. But in 1954 when the Umpqua, along with other tribes along Oregon's Grand Ronde had their tribal status terminated by the federal government, she was left with an empty sense of who exactly she was. With jacked up prices forcing them off their tribal land and no more government protections, the Petit family took up the Indian Relocation Program's offer of opportunity and new beginnings. What begins as a story of displacement quickly turns into a story of childhood fun and antics colored by Umpqua culture and the racial tensions of the civil rights movement set in the lively and culturally diverse city of L.A. Regina's character is thoughtful and hesitant as her father encourages their family to embrace their Americanness, while her younger sister, PeeWee, dives head first into their new community. While Regina struggles to make sense of her Indianness in L.A. throughout the book, her grandmother, Chich, grounds her in Umpqua folklore and history, helping her to understand the strength and resilience of her people and that that strength cannot be dictated by land. Included are a glossary of Chinuk Wawa terms, and notes from the co-authors, as well as images of the Grand Ronde Tribal Land and of the author's childhood.--Melanie Kirkwood Copyright 2020 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in 1957, as the U.S. government's Indian Relocation Program went into effect, this autobiographical novel was written by the late McManis, of Umpqua heritage and a formerly enrolled citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and completed after her death by Sorrell, an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Ten-year-old Regina Petit's family moves to Los Angeles after their Umpqua tribe, along with all Oregon tribes, is terminated. Displaced to a small house in a crowded neighborhood, the Petits--Daddy, Portuguese Mama, grandmother Chich, younger sister Peewee, and Regina--confront stereotypical views of Native Americans held by their new friends, including black, Latinx, and white people. Regina struggles with her Native identity as she experiences Halloween--during which a racist attack leaves her bewildered--and Thanksgiving for the first time. The authors' depiction of valiantly optimistic Daddy as a man who is unwilling to be defeated by discrimination is especially strong; other characters, while sympathetic, have less dimension, and two significant family events are given little heft. A personalized look at a significant moment in U.S. history, the book closes with extensive back matter, including McManis's author's note and family photos. Ages 8--12. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--7--Regina Petit and her family are Umpqua, living on the Grand Ronde Tribe's reservation in Oregon, until the U.S. government enacts a law saying that her tribe no longer exists. Ten-year-old Regina can't comprehend what is happening to her family and how they can have their Indian heritage taken away from them. Forced to move with her parents, grandmother, and younger sister, PeeWee, to Los Angeles, Regina finds her world turned upside down. Daddy believes that the 1957 Indian Relocation Program will provide their family with a home, schooling, a good job, and opportunities, while Chich (Grandma) is more doubtful, calling their relocation an eviction. Mama tries to keep her chin up for her family, but she just wants to go back home. Regina and PeeWee try to acclimate to their new neighborhood and school but find ignorance and racism toward Indians prevalent. New friends Keith and Addie are a bright spot for the Petit children, but as black children, Keith and Addie also face racism. Daddy tries to put on a brave face for his family, working hard to get ahead, only to discover that education and hard work aren't necessarily enough. The family's struggles are not sugarcoated; readers see the reality of Daddy's despair and anger as Mama tries to hold the family together. In the midst of it all, Chich carries forward their tribal stories. In this book based on McManis's own childhood experiences, the family is fictionalized to show how older children might react to being uprooted and plopped down in a foreign world--McManis was one year old when the government declassified her family's tribe. McManis died before finishing the novel, entrusting Sorell to finish her story. A lengthy author's note from McManis offers relevant history with which readers may be unfamiliar, along with family photos from this time. Also discussed in the note is the relevance of President Ronald Reagan changing the laws in 1983, enabling the restoration of tribes that had been terminated. VERDICT Readers will be moved as they become invested in Regina's predicament. Is she still Indian, American, or both--and what does that mean for her and her family?--Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA
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Review by Horn Book Review
This novel (based on McManis's childhood) is set against the background of U.S. government actions beginning in the 1940s that terminated the status of many Native Nations and forced relocation of families living on reservations. With a stroke of the pen, in 1954, eight-year-old Regina Petit and her family lose both their identities and their home. Members of the Umpqua tribe in northern Oregon, the Petits relocate to Los Angeles. There, Regina tries to adapt to life in the city, making friends outside her culture and figuring out what it means to be (in the terminology of the times) Indian. The straightforward, easygoing flavor of this narrative is shot through with deadpan, subversive humor. Its many ironies lie not in authorial commentary but in the events themselves. A neighbor kid kindly explains to Regina that "real" Indians live in tipis and hunt with bows and arrows. Regina, seeing TV for the first time, gets a crush on Tonto. The family is refused service in an upscale restaurant because the waitress won't serve "Mexicans." Most poignant of all is Regina's father, who tries to embrace the "opportunities" that their forced relocation offers. Beloved grandmother Chich, the family's repository of cultural knowledge, is less sanguine. This is a book we need-distinctive in voice, accessible in style, and told with an insider's particular power. Back matter includes authors' notes that tell more about the federal termination laws and detail Sorell's role in completing the manuscript after McManis's death. Sarah Ellis November/December 2019 p.91(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In 1954, the Umpqua tribe was terminated by the government.Unable to afford their land on the former Umpqua Grand Ronde reservation in Oregon, 10-year-old Regina Petit's father, who is Umpqua, decides to sign up for the Indian Relocation Program and move the entire family to Los Angeles. Regina and her little sister, Peewee, spend the summer adjusting to life in their multicultural South Central Los Angeles neighborhood, where they befriend black siblings Keith and Addie and Cuban brothers Anthony and Philip. In this new environment, Regina is forced to confront the dominant ideas about her Indian identity through what the other kids have learned at school and from the 1950s TV show The Lone Ranger. A neighborhood game of Cowboys and Indians defies the outcome Regina played on the rez, where the Indians win. The children experience a racist attack while trick-or-treating when white teenagers throw eggs and use the N-word. (The book leaves Regina puzzling over this incident without addressing the history or implications of the slur.) McManis and Sorell produce a poignant family story of the impact termination had on the thousands of Native Americans who left reservations in order to survive. Using a supporting cast of color to reflect distorted stereotypes back at them, however, has the effect of eliding the implication of white culture in their origins.A good starting point to introduce the legacy of tribal termination. (Historical fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
